


The Valiant Company - Part 1

by Evagorn



Series: The Valiant Company [1]
Category: HEARTBEAT (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2021-01-02 13:36:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21162518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evagorn/pseuds/Evagorn
Summary: An unlikely band of Humans and Mogwai join forces to try to end the war between their peoples through peace. But they discover that they face resistance to such a goal from both sides.A struggle for peace calls for valiant hearts...





	The Valiant Company - Part 1

Our story begins in Cirruwa Forest, a large and tangled wood whose pathways are confusing at the best of times. But today, its lanes have become even more obscure than usual, leaving our four heroes in a strange predicament.

First is the Sahuagin, Dr. Levi Athens, who is normally quite familiar with Cirruwa. She has taken this road many times as she makes her way east to the coast. But on today’s return trip, she finds herself lost, and begins to cautiously search for a way forward.

Nearby, the Human cleric Thorn - also called Thofire Thunderstruck - awakens to discover that he too has been bamboozled. He finds himself in a section of woods he does not recognize, and his armor has also been taken from him. He begins to scour the nearby woods in search for it.

Deep in another part of the woods, the Tsuchinoko Chihaka Ibara - or Chi for short - is contemplating her next work of art, when she realizing that she has found herself in something of a dead end. Annoyed, she calls out, demanding if any fairies had something to do with this. But she receives no answer. She resolves to get to the bottom of the mystery on her own and tromps out into the woods proper.

Finally, Elouan Webb, a Human traveler, is searching the woods for some place to settle down and build a new house. He finds himself plopped down in a literal dead end with no way of knowing how he got there, so he begins to explore the only path available to him to see what to do next. As he does, he begins it hear a low growling...

As Dr. Levi and Thorn explore their respective paths, they eventually bump into each other. Startled by the sight of a human, Levi dashes away, and Thorn quickly follows. Soon they both encounter Chi as well, and the three of them have something of a standoff. Chi begins to berate them both for what she perceives to be their respective faults, demanding if they know anything about the day’s oddities. Levi stammers a few responses, but is clearly flustered by Chi’s remarks. Thorn, on the other hand, seems oblivious to the import of this encounter, and instead resumes the search for his armor in the nearby brush.

Meanwhile, further away, Eluoan draws closer to the growling sound, when suddenly he sees a ferocious looking Cerberus leap out of the darkness towards him. Naturally, not wanting to fight such a beast alone, he makes a break for it and flees deeper into the woods. And the beast follows close behind.

Levi, Chi, and Thorn continue to banter, and actually begin to search the nearby paths to see if they can discover a way out of their predicament. Suddenly, the see Eluoan come barreling through with his Cerberus pursuer close behind. It is then they all see that the creature has four heads instead of the usual three, and it does not look happy.

Though the four heroes attempt to flee, they soon realize that standing their ground and stopping this beast’s rampage is their own sure path to safety. Eluoan and Levi draw their firearms and shoot at the feral Mogwai, which seems to irritate it more than anything. But Chi is able to land some decisive blows with her feet and fists that draw the beast’s ire more concretely. At the same time, Thorn continues his fruitless search for his armor, only to hear a strange sound in the nearby woods. He investigates, and finds a leaf covered Mogwai shriek in terror at spotting him. Before he can interact with her further, she disappears into the underbrush.

The battle continues to rage, and the heroes begin to heal from the Cerberus’s savage blows and fiery breath. Levi fires a healing spray from her gun, while Thorn channels positive energy to restore all of his allies’ vigor. Suddenly, out of the brush, a new figure emerges! He small Cat Sith wielding what appears to be a novelty toy hammer appears, and states that he has come to help. He requests that the heroes do not kill the poor Cerberus, as he has been trying to help her. He gives the Mog smack with his hammer, setting the tone for the rest of the fight.

Chi follows his example and curbs her blows to strike points meant to disable rather than kill. After a little more effort, the team is able to knock the beast unconscious and claim victory. The Cat Sith jumps atop the disabled beast with an enthusiastic guffaw, thanking the heroes for their assistance. He then introduces himself as Alphonso Purson. He acknowledges the confused pathways and invites the group to follow him to a more secure location where they can discuss things further. With mixed feelings, but a generally positive impression, the group joins Alphonso as he plumbs deeper into the trees. He leads them to what appears to be a dead end, but with a few magic words he is able to make the trees depart, revealing a hidden path. Down they go, with Alphonso dragging the Cerberus bodily behind him.

After a short walk, they find themselves - amazingly - in an entire town secluded deep in the woods called Pawstantinople. After taking a moment to look at the strangeness of it, a new figure appears. He appears to be a dapper butler, and Alphonso addresses him as Yurius. Yurius then takes the Cerberus away with him, teleporting both it and himself away in the blink of an eye. With that resolved, Alphonso asks if the heroes would follow him deeper into the town to his officer where they can discuss matters formerly.

As the team passes through Pawstantinople, they see various Mogwai living in apparent peace and security. The Mogwai wave in greeting as the pass, with no fear of the two Humans, either. Thorn even introduces himself to one of these Mogwai, a Nue, who tells the Cleric that his name is also Thorn! Bewildering as this all is, the group continues to follow Alphonso to the very back of the town. As he goes, he points out various features they have, such as a Blacksmith, Alchemist, Physician, and General Store. Finally they reach his office, where a huge Troll stands guard. Alphonso asks the Troll, Grok, if he has any poetry to share with them. A bit nervously, Grok pulls out a piece of paper and recites the following:

Delighted by this artistic display, the team then heads inside Alphonso’s office - which, Chi notes dryly, has been foolishly labeled “Headquarters” in an open way - and inside they meet three more people. One they recognize as the butler, Yurius, but two others are new. The first is a Tesso who smiles pleasantly at them, and the other a maid with a bright smile and apparently open manner.

Alphonso takes his place at the front of the room, but not before sharing a kiss with the Tesso. He then allows everyone the chance to introduce themselves. Chi, ever cautious, asks if they will be secure to speak in this setting, and Alphonso assure her that they will be safe, deferring to Yurius. The man reveals himself to be a Beholder, with power over time and space, allowing him to keep all the information in this room utterly secure.

Dr. Levi explains that she was recently visiting a friend and was simply traveling back home. She gives her credentials as a Doctor, which delights the Tesso, who wonders if Dr. Levi would be willing to help their own ill and infirm. Levi happily offers her services.

Chi relates that she is formerly of the Den Military, and has even sat in council with Queen Han herself at one time. Again the Tesso speaks up, this time wondering about Chi’s last name, Ibara. When Chi presses her, the Tesso merely says that her father once knew an Ibara.

Thorn tells his tale of searching the land for some kind of fateful encounter, and states that his primary concern right now is simply finding his armor. Alphonso guffaws at this, and remarks that he can have a fresh set made for Thorn at any time.

Lastly, Eluoan explains that he is merely in search of a new place to live. Alphonso extends his own town as more than welcoming to the Human.

After the heroes explain who they are and their business for being in the forest, Alphonso allows his own people to do likewise. The Tesso is Vivian Sitri, and wife of Alphonso. The other woman announces herself as Helga Forcus, sister of Yurius and also a Beholder. He then gets into the serious business of their meeting: he is the leader of what he calls The Valiant Company, an organization of mixed Mogwai and Humans that seek to end the War between their peoples through peaceful cooperation. He then asks frankly if our heroes would be willing to aid in their cause, and is delighted when they all accept.

From there, he offers to introduce them to some of the other townspeople, starting with the local doctor. The group heads to her office and finds a Cat Sith in apparently deep contemplation at her desk. She is startled by their entrance, and makes a demure bow as they come in. She relates her own difficulties with dealing with so many sick and wounded, and is relieved to hear the Dr. Levi’s services are being offered to her.

Suddenly, a newcomer bursts into the room asking for Alphonso. They follow this new girl outside and head to the east side of town, where a group of Fairies have gathered. The leader, a young man, steps forward and demands to know what Alphonso is thinking. He points to the Humans, stating that this confirms his suspicions after all. Alphonso demands he explain himself, and the Fairy relates that there is a group of Humans camped nearby, and he excuses Alphonso of being responsible for their presence. Alphonso of course denies it, and he pleads with his new heroes to investigate. They agree, but the Fairies send one of their own to make sure the job is done properly.

The team departs into the woods once more and is led south towards a path they have not yet traversed. But before they do, Thorn directs them towards where he spotted the strange Mog from earlier. Most of them can see nothing in the darkly tangled woods, but Thorn can see the branches overlapping in ways that shouldn’t be possible. Suddenly, he is overcome with a strange sensation, and finds that his left hand has been changed into a claw. The transformation is brief, but he and the rest of the group is definitely shaken by the occurrence. Chi demands of Dr. Levi if this is some sort of part of Human anatomy, but Levi strenuously denies such a thing.

Disquieted but still determined, the group resumes their march into the deeper woods. As they go, Eluoan begins to examine the path more closely, and notices something alarming: the trail has been cut off sharply, as though the path the Humans originally walked down was shifted to this position from somewhere else. He questions the Fairy about it, and she admits that the Fairies moved the Humans here to confuse them. Though the Fairy seems to think this is a mundane revelation, Eluoan puts together the alarming truth: The Fairies moved the Humans near Pawstantinople intentionally.

Keeping this info close to hand for now, Eluoan and the others finally head towards where the Humans are camped. The Fairy guard warns them to be quiet, and they attempt to sneak up. Unfortunately, they are almost immediately spotted, and the Humans leap to defend themselves. A brief skirmish ensues, in which the team disarms one of the Humans, and Eluoan is able to hold him hostage and bring the fighting to a temporary standstill. From there, the Captain of the Humans appears and demands to know what is going on.

Chi steps forward and frankly explains their mission of peace. She explains that there is a settlement nearby with both Humans and Mogwai who only wish there to be peace, and that they wish to open such negotiations. The commander, Victor, is not impressed by these remarks, though does seem inordinately pleased to hear there is a settlement nearby. He makes some surreptitious gestures, and one of his people disappears into the darkness while the groups continue to talk.

Finally, with an impasse seemingly reached, Victor loudly declares his true intentions with a single word: “FIRE!” And a massive mortar drops down onto the group, scattering them. Chi declares a full retreat, and the group flees the scene while the Fairy covers their rear with a wall of trees. Chi attempts to warn the Humans that if they attack the town, a much more dire fate awaits them. Her only reply is Victor’s darkly condescending laughter.

Battered, the team returns to Pawstantinople. The Fairy immediately flies off, leaving the team to have to catch up. Fortunately, Yurius appears and teleports them over to where Alphonso and the Fairies are already arguing. Again the Fairy leader accuses the heroes of treachery, saying it was clear they wanted the Human soldiers to be here. But then, Eluoan steps up and reveals the truth: It was the Fairies who orchestrated this encounter through their manipulation of the forest paths.

Though the Fairy leader tries to deny it, his guilt is obvious to all. Alphonso, normally so jovial, flies into a rage, revealing his Human form and driving the Fairies away. He tells his people not to pursue them, correctly identifying the nearby Humans as the more pressing threat. He looks to the heroes, at his wits’ end, and asks if they would be willing to help defend Pawstantinople. They all agree, and Alphonso feels that relief, at least. He then turns to his guard, the Kitsune from earlier, and tells her to have everyone evacuated into the caves.

“What do I tell them it’s for?” She asks.

And Alphonso answers. “For war, obviously.”

With the Human threat looming, will the heroes be able to devise a plan that can defend Pawstantinople? And what of the Fairies? What is their true goal behind this duplicity? With machinations upon machinations, our heroes will truly need valiance to face the danger that lies ahead...


End file.
